


Yin and Yang

by tryslora



Category: Secret Circle (TV)
Genre: M/M, Resurrection, Spells & Enchantments, Witches, Yuletide 2011, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 17:49:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/298431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tryslora/pseuds/tryslora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jake Armstrong comes to Adam with a plan to potentially save Nick, how can Adam resist? Even if he doesn't like Jake, or particularly trust him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Yin and Yang

**Author's Note:**

  * For [clover71](https://archiveofourown.org/users/clover71/gifts).



> I don't own the characters or world of The Secret Circle, but I loved getting the chance to take them out to play. This prompt was irresistible and a ton of fun to write.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Jake Armstrong.

No, wait, that was a lie. It was exactly that he didn’t like Jake Armstrong. Or trust Jake Armstrong. Or want him around.

But Adam had to admit that this plan Jake had, this _thought_ that had come up, might actually work. And Adam couldn’t just ignore the idea of doing something that might save Nick. Even if he wasn’t sure why Jake had decided to bring it only to _him_.

“Why not involve the girls?”

“Because every time you’re around Diane you act like an idiot,” Jake said with a definitive note. No smirk, no teasing, just fact. “And Cassie’s magic is too unreliable.”

“Faye?”

“Can’t keep her hands off of me. And Melissa is still mourning Nick; she won’t be any help.” His head tilted, watching Adam. “It’s got to be you and me. Unless you’re afraid.”

“Of you?” Adam snorted, rolling his eyes, arms crossed. “Of course not. But I don’t trust you, and you know it. And we need a third for power. We’re bringing Faye in.” Out of all the girls she had the most power combined with the least involvement with himself, which made her the best choice in his opinion. 

“Yin and yang, Adam. Yin and yang.” Jake gave him that infuriating look. “Just take a look at the details and you’ll see it has to be you and me. This is meant for two people. Specifically, two people who hate each other.”

“We’re that at least,” Adam said dryly. “Give it here.”

The Armstrong Book of Shadows, like all of them, was hand bound and old, pages rough at the edges, sometimes fading or torn. Adam might not have liked Jake, but he treated that book with the respect it was due, fingers light against the heavily inked parchment, drawing over the lines of the words and sketches that accompanied the spell.

There were pieces missing. Adam frowned at that, not able to read the last of it, but he was able to get the gist. Two souls, bound in anger, were able to retrieve a third soul that lingered on the edges of life and death. “Someone designed this specifically for the demon-torn,” Adam mused. “Someone knew—”

“And didn’t use it before,” Jake finished his sentence. “I know. But Nick’s a witch, and he was killed by a demon, not just possessed, and I think that’s the difference. I’ve already gone to the crypt and seen his body.”

“And?”

“Nothing.” Jake smiled tightly. “No decomposition. No change. It’s like he’s in stasis, waiting to get himself back.”

“Good thing he didn’t have an autopsy.” Adam closed the book carefully, letting his fingers drift over the hand-carved leather cover. “So we start at the wharf.”

Jake nodded. “That’s right. First we get his soul, then we take it to him and restore it to his body. I’ll have my brother, and you’ll have your Circle.”

Adam crossed his arms, head tilted, jaw set. “You ignored your brother for two years. Why are you in such a rush to bring him back?”

“He’s my brother.” Jake packed the book into his bag. “I may not have been here, but he’s still my blood. And as soon as he’s back, I can get out of here again.”

“Right, because there’s nothing to keep you here.” And good riddance, too. Adam wouldn’t mind seeing the back of Jake Armstrong. “We’ll see if we can get this done tonight.”

#

Jake was already waiting on the dock when Adam arrived. It was deep into the wee hours of the night, and the wharf was mostly abandoned. Adam spotted a security patrol walking, so he pulled his Bronco into the shadows and parked it out of sight. He didn’t carry a light, approaching Jake through the moonlit night.

The Book of Shadows was open in Jake’s hands as he frowned down at it. At Adam’s footsteps, the frown smoothed away into that infuriating calm veneer Adam knew so well, like nothing could touch him. Drove Adam nuts, that Jake just never seemed _human_.

Adam crouched down next to him. “I’ve got pansy oil and a bunch of fresh rosemary,” he said. “And a lighter.”

“That part’s not going to be easy.” Jake looked out over the water. “He’s out there somewhere, and we need to be where he is.”

“In the water?” Adam gave Jake a look. “Do you feel this wind?” It ruffled his hair, and blew through his jacket, chilling him.

“It’s the way it has to be done, Adam.” Jake pushed himself to standing, placing the book into a waterproof sack and dropping it on the dock. He pulled off his jacket, then stripped off his shirt. He was working the fly to his jeans when Adam started moving.

He wasn’t going to let Jake be _better_ than him. Adam was the leader, and he was the one who saved people. Not Jake Armstrong.

Adam stripped down quickly, bundling his things into a bag, keeping only his boxers on and a ziploc bag of ingredients he needed. He wrapped his arms around himself, the bag clutched tight in his hand. “And just how are you planning on finding him?”

“This.” Jake raised his hand and chanted, “ _Blood to blood, heart to heart, soul to soul. Light my way to where my brother’s self lies._ ” He flicked his hand as if throwing, and a shower of sparks flew out, falling to the water below to land in a circle. It was as if the stars reflected there, bobbing on the waves.

“Time to swim.” Jake reached out and grabbed Adam, and pulled as he leapt into the water. Adam just had time to see what looked like the spell upon the water explode up, even brighter than before, then he was in the water and going under, struggling to breathe.

As they burst upwards, Adam gasped in a breath, shaking water from his eyes and pulling away from Jake. He needed both his hands for this, and focus so he didn’t drop the bag he carried. They swam together, Adam pulling ahead one moment and Jake the next, the need to beat the other man there driving Adam forward.

He was able to ignore the chill in the water until they stopped, surrounded by the light of Jake’s spell, treading water to stay afloat. “This is it.” Jake turned in a lazy circle. “You start.”

Adam bobbed in the water, keeping himself afloat by the strength of his legs alone, hands occupied with tearing open the baggy. “Come here,” he ordered, tone sharp and irritated from the chill seeping into his bones.

The choppiness of the water didn’t make keeping balance easy, and Adam slipped underwater, one hand holding the ingredients safely while he sputtered his way back up. “Don’t pull,” he snapped, when Jake tangled their legs together underwater. He tried to jerk back, sending himself floating away.

“Stop it.” Jake’s tone was as calm as always, a smirk lifting his lips. “I’m going to hold onto you so you can do your part without drowning. I’d hate to have to start this over with a new partner.”

Adam stiffened, waiting while Jake grabbed him, pulling him in close. Their legs moved in concert, Jake balancing Adam with an arm around his waist.

As Adam relaxed, the glow around them rose until he had to blink. “You’re meant to take Nick’s place in the Circle,” he pointed out. It was reasonable; the Circle was drawn along bloodlines, and with Nick gone, that meant Jake fit right into that spot. So with two of them together in the water, Adam’s magic flared in response.

“No, I’m not.” Jake’s breath was warm against Adam’s neck, a welcome source of heat. “Nick’s still your sixth. Once we’ve got him back you’ll see that.”

And they were here to do just that. Hands now free and body stable, if shivering, Adam dripped pansy oil on the water, watching droplets spread out among the light. Pansies meant they were thinking of him, to draw Nick’s soul out. Then he lit the rosemary, the fresh herbs releasing a fragrant smudge of smoke as he lifted it high, letting the smoke swirl around them. Rosemary for remembrance, faithfulness, love. Although Adam had his doubts on the last. Was love the right word for what was between the brothers? Jake obviously cared about his younger brother, but Adam didn’t think Jake Armstrong had it in him to love anything but himself.

His arm ached from holding the rosemary overhead, and he heard Jake murmuring words behind him, but he had no idea what the spell was. Adam started to shiver, body shaking, hot where it touched Jake’s skin, freezing where the water swirled around him. His feet slowed, tugged down into the water, losing feeling in his toes.

He didn’t expect the sharp pull that yanked him from Jake’s hold, tugging him under the waves just as he cried out, getting a mouthful of water.

He didn’t have enough air, didn’t have enough to fight his way out of whatever clung to his legs, pulling him further into the darkness beneath the water. Lungs bursting, his mouth opened, water rushing in, something slipping into his lungs with a shock that made his eyes open wide.

Adam coughed, once. Then the world went dark.

#

He couldn’t get warm. His body shook violently with the chills, lungs aching, feeling like he’d run a marathon.

“You need to get dressed.”

Jake knelt next to him on the hard wet wood of the dock, trying to shove one of Adam’s hands into the sleeve of his shirt. Adam wanted to help, wanted that warmth, but couldn’t seem to get his hand to behave. “Don’t feel right,” he managed to groan before coughing out what felt like a lungful of water.

“You could have mentioned you didn’t know how to swim,” Jake told him. “Or maybe you just have a thing about being saved. Or wanted to stay with Nick.”

Nick. Adam blinked, trying to remember what had happened. “Did it work?”

“Considering he came with you when I hauled you out, yes.”

Adam wrestled his way to sitting, waiting for the world to stop spinning, and the shivers to slow. He reached out for the pile of clothes, yanking them back onto his wet body, hoping it would help stop the chill. “So where is he?”

“You tell me. You’re the one who grabbed onto him.”

Adam disputed that. Nick grabbed onto him, tried to drown him, too. Or else that was the demon and Nick helped get him out? It was fuzzy, and Adam could only pull back the vaguest sensations of warmth and movement. Not enough to know what happened.

“Give me your keys.” Jake held out his hand, and when Adam didn’t respond, he rolled his eyes. “I’m going to go get your Bronco and bring it down here. Unless you want to walk that far.”

Adam sure as hell didn’t want Jake driving his car, but he knew he wasn’t going to make it across the sand. Instead he laid back, eyes closed, trying to wrestle his body under control. Why didn’t Jake seem to care about the cold when Adam couldn’t seem to manage to get warm? Something to do with Nick?

A sharp pain lanced through his gut, and he cried out, hearing an answering yell from the sands.

Adam rolled over, losing the contents of his stomach over the edge of the dock. Eyes closed, he breathed deep, trying to get past the pain, waiting until it abated.

“I didn’t anticipate that.”

He looked up to find Jake crouched next to him. “Where’s my car?”

“I can’t go get it. I can’t leave you.” Jake’s expression was blank. “Made it halfway up the beach and felt like I was going to be split in two. My guess is we’re sharing a hold on Nick, and we need to stay together. Which means you get to get up off your ass and walk.”

It was a struggle, but Adam managed to lurch to his feet, stumbling into Jake, who wedged an arm under his shoulder. Each step was a trial as they made their way slowly across the sand to the Bronco. Jake opened the passenger door and Adam sat on the edge of the seat, bent over, shivering and trying to get warm. He ignored the sounds of Jake rummaging around in his car, not wanting to know what he was doing there. He didn’t trust Jake Armstrong any more than he had before, saving his life or not, but he couldn’t stop shivering long enough to _care_.

He didn’t expect the scratchy old wool blanket that settled over his shoulders, but he was thankful for the warmth. It didn’t stop the shivering completely, but as Adam wrapped it around himself, he was able to focus enough to get into the car and get his seatbelt on. “Thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jake settled into the driver’s seat as if it were his. “Didn’t want you dying before we got done with Nick.”

Whatever the reason, Adam appreciated it. And almost considered it a rare sign of humanity. Focused on slow, deep breaths, he closed his eyes and rested.

#

By the time they reached the cemetery, Adam had come full circle. For a brief time in the car he’d been warm beneath the blanket, but shortly after the shakes started again. He clenched his fists, pulling the blanket tight around himself, eyes pressed closed.

“Don’t die on me,” Jake said mildly.

“Like you’d mind.”

There was a moment’s pause before Jake said, “Can you imagine the trouble explaining it to the girls? You’re not worth it. Besides, you’ve got at least a part of my brother in there. Can’t let you off yourself before you get him out.”

Adam’s eyes flew open, glaring at Jake. “That’s what you think this is? Me _offing_ myself? I nearly drowned to save Nick, and now—”

Jake grinned. “Anger helps. Keep being pissed off at me. You need the energy, since we have to walk from here.”

Walking was not on Adam’s top ten list of activities he wanted to be doing right that second. Lying down in a warm bed. Hot showers. Sleeping. Anything other than stumbling through a cold graveyard with Jake Armstrong and an old scratchy wool blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

It was for Nick. They didn’t always get along, but Adam would rather have Nick in the Circle than his brother. Besides, it was the decent thing to do.

The Armstrong family crypt was locked, and Jake fumbled for the key while Adam kept himself upright. He could see that the cold was starting to get to Jake, too.  They stumbled inside together, Adam trying to acclimate to the darkness as Jake guided him to a spot against the wall.

“You’re shivering again.”

“I’m cold.” Adam tugged the blanket tighter, trying to wrap himself up in it. “The blanket isn’t doing any good.”

“That’s because it’s wool and you don’t have a source of heat under it, so all it’s doing is making you stay cold.” Jake lifted the blanket, pulling at it to get it out of Adam’s hands. When Adam resisted, Jake waited, giving him a look. “Are you afraid to share space with me?”

“Of course not.” Adam let it go. He couldn’t stop Jake if he wanted to, not really, not the way his hands were shaking now. And as Jake settled in close, Adam felt the burn of body heat through his clothes and tilted closer. He wanted that heat. Needed it. He drew in a shuddering breath and let it out as a tiny bit of warmth seeped back into his bones.

“We can do better than this,” Jake murmured. “We’re witches, and we’re not thinking. Give me your hand.”

Adam stuck his hand out through the space where the blanket overlapped, palm up. “You’re still not a part of our Circle.”

“Maybe not. Maybe I am. Maybe Nick’s here, who knows.” Jake held his hand over Adam’s, letting it hover about an inch from his skin. “ _Let my heat warm you. Let the fires burn._ ”

Adam gasped at the shock of warmth on his palm, at the light that flooded out, filling the crypt and shocking his eyes. Magic didn’t just _work_ with Jake as a partner, it worked _well_. Maybe better than anything else he’d done before. Heat flooded into his body, surging through his blood, bringing him back to life.

He pulled away, hand clenching, cheeks flooded with warmth. He didn’t look at Jake.

“Better now?”

Adam heard the amusement in his tone and nodded once, sharply. “Much.” Too much. Adam’s body burned, far more awake than he wanted it to be. “We have to do this now. While I’ve got energy. Who knows when this will wear off.”

“Right.” Jake raised one eyebrow and stood, holding out a hand that Adam ignored when he stood as well. “Nick’s over here.”

There was something sobering about seeing the coffin of a friend you’d grown up with. Whatever else had gone between them over the years, however often they’d not gotten along, Nick was still dead. Or something. As Jake wrestled the cover off, Adam had to admit that there was definitely no change. “What about the guys at the funeral home?” he asked, wondering if Nick had been pumped full of fluids.

Jake shook his head. “Tradition. Anyone buried in this crypt has to come in natural so they return to the earth. No embalming, no autopsy. We come to death as we were born.”

“And if you’re Nick, you stay that way.” Adam reached out and touched Nick’s face, feeling an answering buzz in his fingertips. “I think he wants back in. You sure we don’t have a demon waiting to get into him?”

“Does it feel like you’re carrying a demon around in you?”

No, but Adam did feel odd. Off-kilter, and confused. Something was wrong, and he couldn’t put his finger on it. Maybe that was just Nick. That’s it, Adam felt wrong because he had Nick’s soul as a passenger, and the sooner he got him out, the sooner everything would go back to normal.

“Come on.” Jake grabbed Adam’s hand and pressed their joined hands together, palms down, against Nick’s chest. 

“Where’s the book?”

“I memorized this part.” Jake’s cool expression showed faint lines of concentration on his forehead. 

Jake started chanting, and Adam felt the room spin. He started to sway, and a hand caught his waist, pulling him close to anchor him, and Jake’s hand tightened over his so he couldn’t let go of Nick. Words flowed by his ears and made no sense. All he knew was an overwhelming heat that swept through him, burning him from the inside until he swayed again, a low moan in his throat.

He opened his eyes to find Jake too close, Adam pressed against his chest, taking strength when he had none in his own legs right then. Hands gripped his shoulders, pulling him closer yet. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Adam shoved at Jake, too weak to push him away. Jake’s mouth closed over his; Adam pressed his lips shut.

“We need to draw Nick’s soul out,” Jake said firmly. “Don’t stop touching him. Or are you not man enough to do this?”

“I’m not afraid of you.”

“Then shut up.”

Pain sliced through Adam, catching his gut, tugging at his heart. He cried out, and Jake pressed closer, hands spread across his back now, supporting him as Adam sagged. His fingers tangled in the suit Nick had been buried in, clutching at it, trying not to let go when he felt like every nerve was on fire. He had to stop this. He had to _finish_ this.

Somewhere he heard soft words, hushing someone who screamed. Himself. He was screaming. Raw and hungry, throat filling up with water, lungs aching from the burn of breathing fluid. He clung to Nick, clung to Jake, tried not to go under _again_. He didn’t want to die didn’t want to die _didn’t want to die._

Sacrifice.

Jake had said _sacrifice_.

“No!” Both hands on Jake’s chest, letting go of Nick, shoving hard. Adam pushed himself back, stumbling. He felt like he was underwater but saw the crypt, caught between vision and reality.

“Stop it.” Hands caught at his elbows, pulled him back in, arms wrapping around him and holding tight. “You’re still caught in the spell, Adam. Let go. Let Nick out or we’re going to lose you, too.”

“You’d like that,” Adam choked.

 _No, I wouldn’t_.

Adam wasn’t sure if he heard the words or imagined them. Thought them. It was all a blur, caught up in the warmth of Jake holding him, lowering them both to the cold stone floor. When a mouth covered his, Adam greedily breathed the air given, sucked in sweetness and breathed it back out, coughing. Anxious. Terrified. Until the ache in his lungs slowed, the burn tempered to dull warmth, his heart still beating in a low, rapid thud.

Jake’s mouth over his gentled, no longer forcing air in. Instead it stole a taste. A nip. A groan from Adam’s lips.

This wasn’t how this was supposed to go.

Sensations changed, heat coiling in his gut, rushing southward. Adam’s eyes flew open, staring at Jake, who stared right back.

“You seem more alive now.” One corner of Jake’s mouth quirked up.

“I hate you.” The words fell flat, but Adam had to say them. He resisted wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, and Jake’s smirk grew.

“I know.” Jake let him go slowly, turning away to lean on the edge of Nick’s coffin. “That was the condition of the spell. You had to be willing to sacrifice for your enemy.”

Adam took a step back. “Sacrifice what?”

“The Book wasn’t clear on that part.” Jake shrugged. “Do you think it worked?”

It took several breaths before Adam was ready to step forward again, leaning on the coffin as well, next to Jake. There was space between them, the air heated from the warmth of one shoulder not quite leaning against another. Adam caught himself gravitating towards Jake and jerked himself upright, arms crossed as he stared down at Nick.

A small gasp. The rise and fall of Nick’s chest once, then twice.

Adam nodded. “Yeah. It worked.”

He should feel elated. As he watched Jake help Nick sit up… as he slid himself under one of Nick’s arms and helped leverage him out of the coffin… he should feel pleased. And he did feel good about it, as he reached out with his magic and felt Nick’s place in their Circle solidified again.

But he felt something else as well, an awareness of magic outside the Circle pulling him closer. As if Jake and he were a Circle of their own, or a vortex, sucking him in.

Adam glanced over at Jake, schooling his expression blank. “Let’s get Nick back to your house. We’ll figure out the rest then.”

#

Adam sat on the back steps, knees bent, leaning back on his hands as he looked up into the clear, moonlit sky. He picked out constellations by rote, remembering when his father had taught him about destiny and the stars. He was sure his father had never seen this written. He didn’t think anyone had seen this night coming, least of all himself.

“Stalking Cassie?” Jake lowered himself to sit next to him, glancing at the house next door.

Adam shook his head. “No. You?”

Jake tilted his head back, staring up. “No. I think she’s the last thing we need right now.”

Because yesterday they’d been fighting over her. Then tonight—

“What happened tonight?” He had to ask.

“I don’t know.” When Adam glared at him, Jake shrugged. “I mean it. I don’t know. But—” He reached out and grabbed Adam’s hand, twisting it palm up.

Light flared when Jake placed his own palm against Adam’s. As their fingers tangled, that light intensified, warming, and Adam felt answering heat in his gut all over again. He yanked his hand away. “I still hate you.”

Jake laughed dryly. “The feeling might be mutual. Or it might not. Something’s going on here, Adam.”

“How’s Nick?” Adam pulled away, rolling to his feet and leaning back against the railing to look down at Jake.

“Fine. Well, as fine as he can be considering he’s been living outside his own body for a while.” Jake looked up at him, and one eyebrow rose slowly. “Scared?”

Completely, but Adam wasn’t going to admit that. “Of course not.”

Jake pushed to his feet and approached, getting into Adam’s personal space. “Then you won’t mind this,” he said quietly.

“Nope.” Adam kept his voice steady, expression calm. His hands tightened on the railing.

“Or this.”

The kiss was most definitely deliberate this time. Jake gave Adam time to twist away. To flee. But Adam stood his ground, refusing to show fear to Jake Armstrong.

Instead he felt the flare of magic at that first brief brush, then the rush of flames licking over his body as the second kiss deepened. Someone groaned, and Adam let his hands fall to Jake’s hips, pulling him closer, determining that they were both fully involved and interested in this.

“Something happened,” Adam murmured as the kiss broke. “Something changed.”

“But you still hate me.”

Adam answered with a kiss, teasing, testing. Tasting the brief flare of power, seeing the light that shimmered around them both. “I still don’t like you,” he said slowly. “But at the same time—”

“—Something feels right,” Jake completed the sentence.

Exactly.

“So now what?”

Jake shrugged. “Seems to me like you’re the one waffling about this.”

“You think we should just go with it.” It wasn’t a question; Adam could see that fact reflected in Jake’s expression.

“I do. That’s the only way to learn anything. I found my parents’ Book of Shadows and learned magic by practicing.” Another shrug. “We learn how this works by testing the limits. See what works, and what doesn’t. How we fit together.”

Adam shoved at him, but only half-heartedly, oddly relieved when Jake rolled sideways and ended up next to him, their shoulders budged up against each other. Curious, he let his fingers drift over the back of Jake’s hand, aware of where he was, even with his eyes closed. He nodded slowly. “Fine. Yes. We’ll do that.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Jake Armstrong.

No, that was a lie. He still wasn’t sure he liked Jake Armstrong. Or trusted him. But Adam knew he had to figure out how to do both of those things, because he had a feeling he _needed_ Jake. And that wasn’t going to go away.


End file.
